1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to improvements in billiard equipment. More particularly, the present invention relates to improved billiard cues, tables and associated equipment.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
Billiard tables have been made in essentially the same way for many years. The industry standard billiard table cushion is 1.1875 inches across the base and 1 inch in height and has a triangular profile. The standard cushion is molded from pure gum rubber. The basic shaped gum rubber is then vulcanized together with a piece of cloth at the base. The typical billiard table cushion for pool tables is made between 30 and 45 Shore A hardness. A control cloth is then placed over the exterior surface of the cushion.
The process for applying a cushion to a billiard table is to apply rubber cement or carpenter's glue to the base of the cushion and/or the inside wood for the side rails of the billiard table. The cushion is then mounted to the side rails and the glue is left to cure for 24 hours.
Present cushion technology for billiard tables suffers from several disadvantages. First, the gum rubber employed to make the cushions has a limited life span since it undergoes relatively rapid degradation when exposed to temperature changes, air and/or light. Second, the molding process employed to produce gum rubber cushions is susceptible to manufacturing inconsistencies which may result in significant variations in the properties of cushions made by the same manufacturer.
Also, the control cloth of standard cushions tends to wear out quickly, particularly in areas of the table where more frequent play is experienced. Further, the need to use glue to mount current cushions introduces the possibility of error and/or variations due to the use of varying amounts of glue at different locations along the cushion. Also, the 24 hour curing period for mounting cushions is a significant disadvantage of the present technology.
Current billiard cues are frequently made as a single piece from wood although two-piece designs for billiard cues are also employed for more expensive cues. Generally, the area of the cue, which must slide through the guiding hand of the player is made from wood and must be frequently cleaned and treated with friction-reducing materials to prevent sticking.
Another disadvantage of present billiard cues is that they are frequently manufactured at a limited number of lengths and weights due to potentially high manufacturing and inventory costs. It is desirable to provide billiard cues that can be customized in weight, length, grip, tip and shaft, particularly for more experienced players who demand high quality, and consistent equipment to play at a competitive level.
Present billiard cue design calls for the cue to taper from a larger diameter at the butt end to a smaller diameter at the tip used for strung the ball. This design is non-ideal when the physics of pool are considered. Moreover, the taper frequently results in a changing geometric angles during a standard ball stroke since the diameter of the cue passing through the fingers changes as the cue moves back and then forward during a stroke.
Billiard cues also suffer from the disadvantage that the tips are not sufficiently durable to last a long time under normal playing conditions, particularly when the cue is used daily as in many billiard halls. This necessitates frequent replacement of the cue tips thereby resulting in additional costs and, more importantly, at any given time numerous cues may be out of commission due to damaged tips.
Another problem with cue tips is that they require the application of a friction-enhancing material such as chalk to function properly. As a result, billiard centers have to keep an ample supply of chalk on hand for the players. More problematic however, is the mess that this chalk causes when it gets on the floor, billiard table, clothing of the players and even on ceilings and walls when the tip of the cue contacts them. It would be desirable to reduce or eliminate the need for this friction-enhancing material to simplify and clean up the game of billiards.
Finally, a frequent problem faced by all billiard players is that properties of billiard tables vary from table to table. Such things as ball speed, resilience of the cushions, whether the playing surface is level and other factors vary from table to table. At present, there is no method or apparatus for testing a series of the important properties of a billiard table to thereby allow the table to be adjusted and/or graded. As a result, players must spend time to learn the properties of each table that they play on and adjust to the table which results in an unfair advantage for the player most familiar with a particular table.
It is one object of the present invention to provide various embodiments of cushions for billiard tables which overcome one or more of the disadvantages of current cushions for billiard tables.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide various embodiments of billiard cues and/or attachments therefor which overcome one or more of the disadvantages of current billiard cues.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for use in consistently measuring and testing certain properties of billiard tables which affect the play of the game to thereby overcome one or more of the disadvantages of present testing apparatus and to provide the ability to correct the tables and/or rate the tables.
Various embodiments of the present invention are directed to solving one or more of the foregoing problems.